SEO Services for Small and Start-Up Businesses
Websites, search optimisation and AI search visibility — built for trades, clinics and service businesses across the UKMost small businesses do not need a big agency retainer. They need a site that says clearly what they do and where they do it, pages built around the way their customers actually search, and someone who will tell them honestly what is and is not working. That is the whole job. We have done it for landscapers, fabricators, flooring contractors, ear care clinics, electricians and aesthetics practitioners — and we work the same way whether you are three months old or thirty years in.
SEO and AI search optimisation from £100 per month on a six‑month minimum term, including hosting, a full website audit and a dedicated phone number if you want one. New websites from £300, built alongside a six‑month SEO plan. No VAT to add — the price you are quoted is the price you pay.
- UK‑Wide, Remote‑First
- From £100 Per Month
- No VAT To Add
- Site Audit Included
What We Actually Do
Six things, and they overlap. Most clients start with one and add another once the first is working.
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Local SEO
Getting found by people searching in the towns you actually cover. Location pages built on genuine local detail, Google Business Profile set up properly, and consistent business details everywhere they appear.
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National & Sector SEO
For businesses selling beyond one town — suppliers, franchises, specialist fabricators. Built around how buyers in your trade search, which is rarely how you would describe your own work.
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AI Search Optimisation
Structuring your site so AI assistants can read, understand and cite it when someone asks them for a recommendation. A different job from ranking, with a different checklist.
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Website Design & Build
Fast, mobile-first sites that load properly and make it obvious what you do and how to book you. From a three-page starter site to a full service and location structure.
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Content & Copywriting
Service pages, location pages and FAQs written in your voice, not filled with keywords. Written by someone who has learned your trade well enough to write about it honestly.
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Technical SEO & Schema
Structured data, page speed, crawlability, internal linking and the unglamorous fixes that stop a good site from ranking. Usually the first thing an audit turns up.
One Platform, Done Properly
We build and manage websites on a single professional platform rather than spreading ourselves across half a dozen. That is a deliberate choice, and it is worth being straight about what it means for you.
Knowing one system thoroughly means we can implement changes ourselves — page structure, content, technical fixes, structured data — rather than handing you a list of recommendations and leaving you to find somebody to action them. Most of the value in SEO sits in the implementation, not the report.
If your existing website is already built on that platform, we can do everything described above. If it is built on a different one, there are two routes:
- Rebuild on our platform, from £300, and we can then work on every part of your visibility.
- Off-site SEO only — your Google Business Profile, directory and citation consistency, review platforms, backlinks and social profiles. Everything that builds visibility from outside your website.
Off-site work is genuinely valuable and for some local businesses it moves the needle on its own. But it is only part of the picture: if the site itself is thin or badly structured, there is less for that work to build on. We will tell you honestly how far it is likely to get you rather than taking a monthly fee for something we know is only going to half-work.
The audit itself is platform-agnostic. We will look at your site wherever it is built and tell you what is wrong with it before either of us commits to anything.
Built for Small Businesses, Not Adapted for Them
There is a particular problem with being a small business buying SEO. The agencies that will take your money at a small-business budget are usually running a template across hundreds of clients. The agencies doing genuinely good work are priced for companies with a marketing department.
We sit deliberately in between. The work is done by hand, on a small number of accounts, by someone who will learn your trade properly before writing a word about it. That means understanding that a welder searching for repair work and a customer searching for bespoke gates are two entirely different queries, or that flooring supply-only and supply-and-fit are separate search universes, or that an aesthetics clinic cannot legally show the before-and-after photos its competitors are showing.
That kind of detail is what separates a page that ranks from a page that reads like it was written by someone who had never met the business. You can see how it works in practice across our client case studies — including a Nottingham metal fabrication business, a flooring contractor and an ear care clinic.
We are also comfortable telling you when you do not need something. If your existing page is already ranking well, we will say so and leave it alone rather than rewriting it to look busy.
AI Search Optimisation — and What It Honestly Is
A growing share of people now ask an AI assistant for a recommendation instead of scrolling a results page. That changes what a website needs to do. Ranking is about being placed above competitors. Being cited by an AI model is about being understandable — the model has to be able to extract clear, specific, verifiable facts about your business and be confident enough to repeat them.
In practice, the things that make a site citable are fairly consistent:
- A named human being with stated experience, not an anonymous "we"
- Structured data that states plainly what you do, where, and who provides it
- Direct question-and-answer content, because that is the shape of the query
- Indicative pricing — models lean heavily on pages that give real figures
- Regulatory and compliance knowledge relevant to your trade, stated accurately
- Consistent business details across directories, review platforms and social profiles
Two honest caveats. First, nobody can guarantee a citation in an AI answer — there is no equivalent of a ranking report, and anyone promising you a fixed position is selling something they cannot deliver. Second, this work overlaps heavily with good conventional SEO. It is not a separate product with a separate invoice, and we do not treat it as one.
What It Costs
Starting points, published openly. Final pricing depends on the size of your site and how competitive your search terms are.
- £100
Per month, from
SEO & AI search optimisation. Six-month minimum term. Priced on your existing page count and the number of search terms you want to target. Includes a full website audit, consultancy across your wider digital presence, and a dedicated local landline or freephone number if you want one.
- £300
One-off build, from
New website. A basic three-page site — home, about and contact — built mobile-first. Supplied alongside a six-month SEO plan, which is what makes the build price possible. Hosting and a dedicated number included throughout.
- £150
Per month, from
Combined package. Ongoing SEO and AI search optimisation together with continual website development and monitoring. Hosting and a dedicated number included. Six-month minimum term.
No VAT to add. Zest Innovation is not VAT registered, so the figure you are quoted is the figure you pay. For a small business that is a real 20% difference against most agencies.
How the website build works. The £300 build price is possible because it comes with a six-month SEO plan from £100 per month — so a new three-page site with its first six months of optimisation starts at £900 in total. We would rather tell you that up front than surprise you on the first call.
Hosting and your phone number. Every plan includes hosting and, if you want one, a dedicated local landline or freephone number at no extra cost. There is nothing further to add on top.
After the six months. You are free to stop. If you continue with SEO, everything stays as it is. If you stop the SEO but want to keep your site live, hosting and your number continue at £25 per month with no tie-in.
If you ever want to leave. Your website sits on a professional website platform, and any dedicated phone number sits with a call-handling provider. You can open your own account directly with each of those providers, pay them direct, and we will hand everything over at no charge — the site, the content and the number are yours to keep running. What is not possible is lifting the site wholesale onto a completely different platform: that would mean a rebuild by whoever you move to. We would rather you knew that now than discovered it at an awkward moment.
These are genuine starting figures, not headline rates with a catch attached. If your site is large or your sector is highly competitive, we will tell you what it will realistically cost before you commit to anything.
Start With a Conversation
Every engagement begins with a full audit of your site and your wider digital presence, whatever platform it is built on. Before that, a free consultation to work out what you actually need — and an honest view on whether we are the right people to provide it.
Book a Free Consultation →Common Questions
How much does SEO cost for a small business?
Our SEO and AI search optimisation starts at £100 per month on a six-month minimum term. The final figure depends on how many pages your site has and how many search terms you want to compete for. Combined packages including ongoing website development start from £150 per month. Hosting and a dedicated phone number are included, and there is no VAT to add.
How much does a new website cost?
A basic three-page site — home, about and contact — starts at £300 as a one-off build, supplied with a six-month SEO plan from £100 per month. That makes the realistic first-six-months total £900. Larger sites with multiple service or location pages are quoted on scope.
Do you charge VAT?
No. Zest Innovation is not VAT registered, so every price we quote is the price you pay. For a small business that is a genuine 20% saving compared with most VAT-registered agencies quoting the same headline figure.
Why is there a six-month minimum term?
Because SEO does not produce meaningful results in four weeks. Changes need to be indexed, tested and measured, and a fair assessment of whether the work is paying off takes roughly two quarters. A one-month rolling contract would let us take your money without ever being accountable for an outcome.
What is included in the monthly fee?
The optimisation work itself, hosting for your website, and a dedicated local landline or freephone number if you want one — all inside the monthly figure, with nothing added on top. Every plan also includes a full audit of your site and consultancy across your wider digital presence.
What happens after the first six months?
You can continue, in which case everything stays as it is, or you can stop. If you stop the SEO but want to keep your site live, hosting and your phone number continue at £25 per month with no tie-in.
I already have a website — can you work on it?
It depends on the platform it is built on. We build and manage sites on a single professional platform so that we can implement changes ourselves rather than just recommending them. If your site is already on that platform, we can work on every part of it. If it is not, we can either rebuild it on ours from £300, or work on off-site SEO only. The audit will establish which situation you are in.
What is off-site SEO, and is it enough on its own?
Off-site SEO is everything that builds your visibility from outside your website: Google Business Profile, directory and citation consistency, review platforms, backlinks and social profile alignment. It is genuinely valuable and for some local businesses it moves the needle on its own. But if the website itself is thin or badly structured, there is less for that work to build on, and we will tell you honestly how far it is likely to get you.
What if I want to move to another agency later?
Your website sits on a professional website platform and any dedicated phone number sits with a call-handling provider. You can open your own account directly with each provider, pay them direct, and we will hand everything over at no charge — the site, the content and the number are yours. Moving to a completely different platform is not a transfer, though; that would mean a rebuild by whoever you move to.
What is AI search optimisation, and do I need it?
It is the work of making your site readable and quotable by AI assistants when someone asks one for a recommendation. It involves structured data, named individuals, question-and-answer content and published pricing. It overlaps heavily with good conventional SEO, so it is included rather than sold separately.
Do you only work with businesses in Nottingham?
No. We work with clients across the UK and the work is delivered remotely. We have clients in Coventry, Cardiff, Sheffield, Derby, Rotherham, Leeds, Colchester and Essex among others. Local SEO for your area does not require us to be based in it.
Can you guarantee I will rank first on Google?
No, and neither can anyone else. Rankings depend on competition, your site's history, your backlink profile and factors outside any agency's control. What we can commit to is doing the work properly, showing you the data honestly, and telling you when something is not working rather than quietly continuing to invoice.
What if my website is already fine?
Then we will say so. Plenty of pages that appear to be underperforming turn out to have a linking or authority problem rather than a content problem, and rewriting them would destroy work that is already good. The audit is designed to find out which situation you are actually in before anything is changed.
Do you work with start-ups with no website at all?
Yes, and it is often easier than fixing an established site. Starting from nothing means the structure can be built correctly from the beginning rather than retrofitted. A three-page starter build with its first six months of optimisation is a common starting point for new businesses.